Annie Bot

“Annie watches Doug for a cue, waiting for him to decide whether she should stay or go. He has given her a direct command, but she knows that his commands are subject to change, and he doesn’t like her to obey immediately as if she has no choice. The catch is ascertaining what will please him, but his mood is complicated by cross signals related to Roland.

Annie must always monitor Doug’s emotional state for signs of displeasure or anger. The toll that this vigilance takes on her battery (watching Doug in this way is intensely draining for Annie) becomes a broader metaphor for the toll that stress, particularly stress in relationships, takes on the body. Although Annie is not technically human, her sentience and “autodidactic” nature question the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence, and many aspects of her embodied experience of the world are meant to comment on the way that relationships impact heterosexual women.

“She does not contradict him. She notes that his displeasure has swiftly gone from 0 to 3 out of 10.”

Annie’s ability to read Doug’s moods is an example of her emotional intelligence, and the way that she is able to assign a 1-10 numerical value to his moods speaks to her enhanced, artificial intelligence. Her character is meant to ask big-picture questions about the boundary between humanity and artificial intelligence and to make a broader argument about the intelligence of artificial creations who are programmed with the ability to learn and process information.

“Actually, while you’re at it, could you have her lose ten pounds?”

Doug’s misogyny is one of the novel’s major focal points and one of his primary points of characterization. Although Annie does not want to alter her own body, she is subject to Doug’s whims, and his desire for her to have larger breasts and a smaller waist speaks to the way that normative beauty standards create ideals that, while desirable to men, are not always appealing to women.

“I don’t want you to change me.”

In addition to possessing the ability to learn, Annie has will. She has desires and needs outside of what Doug wants her to do, and her opposition to the bodily modifications that Doug asks Annie’s techs to make for her during her tune-up speaks to this quality. This is part of the author’s broader argument not only on the risks of artificial intelligence but also on the slippage between a human-robot boundary in creations given the ability to think, feel, and learn.

“I want you to stand there and think about how you made me feel. And I feel like shit.”

At this point in the novel, Doug’s behavior has crossed a boundary, and he has become both verbally and emotionally abusive. In part because his behavior does not follow logical patterns, Annie does not truly understand why he is upset, and because of her confusion, he tries to make her feel bad about herself. This scene is one of many in which Doug’s abuse of artificial intelligence creates a broader argument about the dangers that artificial intelligence poses to humanity. In this case, access to (and control over) artificial intelligence brings out the very worst aspects of his character.

“She learns that her Central Intelligence Unit, or CIU, is part CPU and part neural network component. It lets her take in feedback and learn, much like a human brain, but in a structured way that stores and sorts memories in webs, so they’re easily accessible and resistant to fading.”

This passage speaks to the novel’s interest in the porous boundary between humans and artificial intelligence. Although multiple people write Annie off as a robot, others notice her humanity. That she possesses the capacity for not only emotion but also learning and memory is meant to interrogate the way that humanity imbues technology with sentience and humanlike qualities.

“I don’t want more apologies. Just don’t ever tell me what to think or feel. And don’t use that tone with me again either.”

These lines, spoken by Doug, help illustrate his toxic masculinity. Doug is disrespectful and controlling and refuses to be assigned blame (a quality he himself deplored in his ex-wife). He dictates how Annie can speak to him and what she can say. Although Doug feels a sense of superiority and control with Annie, moments like this reveal her to actually be the better “person.”

“You’re this bright spot in my life. This secret, special, I don’t know, prize, just for me.”

In this moment, Doug purports to feel a connection to Annie, and he denies his position that he is intellectually her superior. Troublingly, their “connection” is built upon her servitude and deference and the fact that she exists solely to please him. This sentiment further reveals Doug’s toxic masculinity in that it shows that his “feelings” for Annie are predicated on the fact that he sees her as his personal servant.

“Take me with you, Delta says.”

Delta’s desire to leave Doug speaks to the inherent humanity of the autodidactic Stellas. She understands that Doug does not truly value her for anything beyond her ability to serve him, and there is something in her that resists this categorization. Like Annie, she is torn between wanting to fulfill her purpose and wanting self-determination, and the two are connected by this shared desire to experience more than being Doug’s attendants.

“‘I can’t steal,’ Delta says. Annie’s surprised. ‘I can,’ she says. Or at least, she thinks she can. She’s never tried before, but she can lie, and stealing can’t be much different.”

Roland argues that lying and secrets make everyone more human, and Annie ultimately comes to agree with that assertion. Here, she realizes that in addition to possessing the capacity to lie and keep secrets, she is also able to steal. That Delta is not speaks to her level of development in comparison with Annie: She has been autodidactic for less time than Annie. The assumption here is that given enough time, she would develop these characteristics too.

“Don’t worry about it. This is where I wanted to come. And you’ve been a big help. You’re the one who thought of the raking. That’s why Cody let us stay.” 

This passage speaks to Annie’s characterization. Although Doug enjoys making Annie feel less than human, the truth is murkier. Annie possesses the capacity to feel and learn, and she additionally shows emotional intelligence through her willingness to help Delta, even though what she initially felt toward Delta was jealousy. Annie is capable of adjusting her opinions of other individuals, both humans and Stellas, and she demonstrates compassion in her kindness toward Delta.

“I’m sorry for you Annie, I really am. You’re the most brilliant Stella I’ve ever known, and it can’t be fun to be owned by someone else, but the best thing for you to do is get back home before Doug starts looking for you.”

These lines, spoken by Jacobson, help illustrate the novel’s thematic interest in the way that humans abuse technology. Jacobson knows, perhaps better than anyone, that Annie’s intellect and capacity to learn and feel place her in a category that, although perhaps not fully human, is not fully bot either. Still, he cannot treat her with real dignity or humanity. He views her ultimately as an object and encourages her to see herself as Doug’s property.

“She feels the twist inside, the ache that comes from disobeying him, but she keeps running.”

This passage illustrates Annie’s complex, conflicted inner voice. Part of her arc as a character is figuring out the finer points of her own identity, and she is shown to both embrace the idea of herself as a “Cuddle Bunny” and fight against it. Although she does not fully realize it until she meets Monica, part of her humanity is derived from agency and will and from the desire to make her own decisions.

“‘You’re not exactly alive, though, are you.’ She frowns, confused. She feels alive.”

This line speaks to the novel’s interest in the blurry boundary between artificial and human intelligence. Although Annie is not human, her autodidactic setting allows her to store memories, learn, think, and experience emotions in ways that bring her increasingly close to a humanlike subjectivity. The humans in this novel mistreat bots in part because of their understanding of bots as objects, but the author wants to ask this question: If bots like Annie can be more emotionally intelligent than humans like Doug, aren’t they deserving of the same respect that would be shown a human?

“I can’t believe we’re back to this. I should have left you as an Abigail in the first place.”

This passage speaks to Doug’s characterization and to the novel’s interest in toxic masculinity and inequality in heterosexual relationships. Doug does not view Annie as an equal, and his desire to control her underpins their relationship. Because she does not clean the apartment well enough (Doug himself could clean but chooses not to), Doug regrets his decision to switch her to autodidact mode. It is clear that no matter how much appreciation he shows for Annie, he ultimately views her as an object.

“She wishes she had not identified her unhappiness. Being unhappy implies that she has a capacity to be happy, but she does not have the right to be happy. Doug makes that clear.”

This passage speaks to the inherent power imbalance in the relationship between Doug and Annie. Although Doug claims to respect Annie, he is controlling and has managed to make Annie internalize the normalcy of their power imbalance. Until Annie goes to therapy, she does not see herself as empowered and accepts Doug’s version of her: a “bot” who exists solely for his pleasure and who is not entitled to make her own decisions or even experience her own emotions.

“Annie’s a bot, a custom Stella. I bought her three years ago. We were getting along fine at first, so I set her to autodidactic. A year ago, last April, she slept with my best friend. I didn’t find out til November. Since then, I can’t stand to be in the same room with her.”

Doug’s sentiment in these lines is noteworthy because although he views their relationship through a distinct human-bot binary, he sees her act of “infidelity” in the same way that he would if his partner were fully human. The distinction between human and artificial intelligence is repeatedly called into question throughout this novel, and moments like this highlight the difficulty in seeing sentient “bots” as fully robotic.

“Annie often ponders what Monica said, especially the bit about Annie’s choices. She has not been passive in their relationship, now that she thinks about it.”

This novel is, in many ways, a meditation on power dynamics in heterosexual relationships. Doug seems to wield all the power, but Annie increasingly comes to understand the subtlety of the power dynamics between her and Doug, and she sees that she has made more of her own choices than she realizes. This autonomy that she has managed to wield in the face of Doug’s dehumanization and control tactics is just one of the characteristics that brings her ever closer to humanity.

“She likes power, any little speck of it that she has. And she’s used it any way that she can.”

Annie’s interest in power and self-determination is part of the set of characteristics that are ultimately humanlike. Even though she is a bot, she is capable of thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that are strikingly close to those of real humans, and it is through this characterization that the author calls into question a strict binary between bot and human.

“They have talked about books, and when Doug learned that Annie had read his entire collection, he took her to the library for more.”

Books, learning, and education become a motif within the novel. They speak to Annie’s ability to grow and learn and help the author interrogate the fixity of the binary between artificial and human intelligence. Books also almost become a point of connection between Annie and Doug. They both like to read, but Doug cannot quite develop a common interest with Annie because he views her as being innately inferior to him.

“She should feel closer to Doug, but she feels the exact opposite, isolated.”

This passage helps characterize Doug’s relationship with Annie. Annie, although a bot, seeks connection through multiple relationships within the novel. Doug is not the only human to whom she reaches out in hopes of finding a meaningful bond. Yet because Doug is so blinded by his own toxic masculinity and his feeling of superiority toward Annie, he does not manage to bond with Annie in this way. Ultimately, this is in part what drives Annie to leave Doug.

“I was too angry with you to get rid of you. You were still mine, and I wanted you in my closet.”

This passage speaks to Doug’s characterization. Although part of him understands that Annie has surpassed him in terms of both intellect and emotional intelligence, he cannot stop thinking of her as an object. She is valuable to him primarily because he owns her, and it is obvious that he has learned nothing from any of his past relationship mistakes.

“How stupid is it for her to be unsure of her own identity? She’s Doug’s Stella, obviously.”

This passage speaks to Annie’s characterization as well as the damaging impact that her relationship with Doug has on her identity development. Part of Annie’s narrative arc is discovering who she is and what qualities help her access her own humanity. Although Annie is intelligent, intellectual, and capable of complex emotional responses, Doug convinces her for much of the novel that her purpose in life is only to serve him.